Mexican American middle school students' goal intentions in mathematics and science: A test of social cognitive career theory.

This study examined whether sociocontextual and sociocognitive variables explained the math/science goals of 409 Mexican American youth using a modified version of R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, and G. Hackett's (1994) social cognitive career theory. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that the hypothesized model explained a significant amount of variance in math/science goals for both Mexican American girls and boys. Findings suggested that gender did not moderate relations among the variables in the hypothesized model. Results also suggested that most of the social cognitive career theory propositions tested were supported. Specifically, social class predicted math/science past performance accomplishments. Math/science past performance accomplishments and perceived parent support predicted math/science self-efficacy. Furthermore, math/science self-efficacy predicted math/science outcome expectations, and together with math/science interests, these sociocognitive variables predicted math/science interests and goals. Contrary to expectations, generation status, Anglo orientation, and Mexican orientation did not predict math/science past performance accomplishments, and past performance accomplishments did not predict math/science outcome expectations. Furthermore, Anglo orientation and perceived social support from parents, teachers, classmates, and a close friend did not predict math/science goals. Suggestions for future research and implications of the results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social Cognitive Predictors of Academic Interests and Goals in Engineering: Utility for Women and Students at Historically Black Universities.

This study examined the utility of social cognitive career theory (SCCT; R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, & G. Hackett, 1994) in predicting engineering interests and major choice goals among women and men and among students at historically Black and predominantly White universities. Participants (487 students in introductory engineering courses at 3 universities) completed measures of academic interests, goals, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and environmental supports and barriers in relation to engineering majors. Findings indicated that the SCCT-based model of interest and choice goals produced good fit to the data across gender and university type. Implications for future research on SCCT's choice hypotheses, and particularly for the role of environmental supports and barriers in the choice of science and engineering fields, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-efficacy for careers and occupational consideration in minority high school equivalency students.

A. Bandura's (1977, 1986) self-efficacy theory was tested with 85 minority high school equivalency students from seasonal farm worker backgrounds. Students' self-efficacy expectations (i.e., beliefs about their ability to learn to successfully do specific occupations), interests, and perceived incentives satisfaction for specific occupations predicted their willingness to consider the occupations. Students' generality of self-efficacy (i.e., the range of occupations for which they feel efficacious) was related to the range of occupations they considered but not to their aptitude. Both men and women reported greater self-efficacy and willingness to consider occupations dominated by their own gender, with women showing a greater tendency to reject occupations dominated by the opposite gender. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of social cognitive and ethnic variables on academic goals of underrepresented students in science and engineering: A multiple-groups analysis.

In this study we investigated the academic interests and goals of 223 African American, Latino/a, Southeast Asian, and Native American undergraduate students in 2 groups: biological science (BIO) and engineering (ENG) majors. Using social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994), we examined the relationships of social cognitive variables (math/science academic self-efficacy, math/science outcome expectations)—as well as the influence of ethnic variables (ethnic identity, other-group orientation) and perceptions of campus climate—to students’ math/science interests and goal commitment to earn a BIO/ENG degree. Path analysis revealed that the hypothesized model provided good overall fit to the data, revealing significant relationships between outcome expectations and interests and between outcome expectations and goals. Paths from academic self-efficacy to BIO/ENG goals and from interests to BIO/ENG goals varied for students in engineering and the biological sciences. For both groups, other-group orientation was positively related to self-efficacy, and support was found for an efficacy-mediated relationship between perceived campus climate and goals. Theoretical and practical implications of the study’s findings are considered as well as future research directions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test of a social cognitive model for middle school students: Math and science.

This study tested Propositions 1, 3, and 4 of the R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, and G. Hackett (see record 1994-47157-001) social cognitive model with ethnically diverse middle school students (N?=?380): that an individual's vocational interests are reflective of his or her concurrent self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectations, that self-efficacy beliefs affect choice goals and actions, and that outcome expectations affect choice goals and action. R. W. Lent et al. also proposed that demographic and individual difference variables (such as gender or race-ethnicity) mediate learning experiences that play a role in forming self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectations. The study investigated a model in which age and gender were represented as antecedent conditions to learning experiences. Self-efficacy was modeled to have both a direct influence on interests and an indirect influence on interests through outcome expectancies. Finally, intentions were modeled to be influenced by self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, and interests. Results support the R. W. Lent et al. Propositions 1, 3, and 4 for this middle school population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social cognitive expectations and racial identity attitudes in predicting the math choice intentions of Black college students.

This study extended social cognitive career theory (R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, & G. Hackett, 1994) and racial identity theory (J. E. Helms, 1990) to the math-related interests and academic choice intentions of Black college students. Participants were 164 Black 1st-year undergraduates who completed measures of racial identity attitudes and math-related indexes of self-efficacy, outcome expectations, perceived sources of efficacy information, interests, and academic choice intentions. A social cognitive path model of students' math-related interests and choice intentions offered good overall fit to the data. Racial identity attitudes generally yielded small relations to the social cognitive variables and the outcome criteria. Self-efficacy and outcome expectations predicted interests, and interests predicted choice intentions, across racial identity attitude levels. Implications for practice and for further research on Black students' academic and career development patterns are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy in the Development of Entrepreneurial Intentions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of self-efficacy in the development of students' intentions to become entrepreneurs. The authors used structural equation modeling with a sample of 265 master of business administration students across 5 universities to test their hypotheses. The results showed that the effects of perceived learning from entrepreneurship-related courses, previous entrepreneurial experience, and risk propensity on entrepreneurial intentions were fully mediated by entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Contrary to expectations, gender was not mediated by self-efficacy but had a direct effect such that women reported lower entrepreneurial career intentions. The authors discuss practical implications and directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of contextual supports and barriers in the choice of math/science educational options: A test of social cognitive hypotheses.

Social cognitive career theory proposes that contextual supports and barriers play key roles in the career choice process, yet little research has examined hypotheses involving these variables. Participants (111 college students) completed measures of math/science-related course self-efficacy, coping efficacy, outcome expectations, interests, goals, and perceived contextual supports and barriers. Findings indicate that self-efficacy and outcome expectations were jointly predictive of interests and choice intentions. Support and barrier percepts produced only weak direct relations to choice, though barrier percepts were found to moderate interest-choice relations. A model portraying barriers and supports as linked to choice indirectly (via their impact on self-efficacy) produced better fit to the data than did a model specifying barriers and supports as directly linked to choice. Implications for future research and counseling are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

It doesn't hurt to ask…But sometimes it hurts to believe: Polish students' creative self-efficacy and its predictors.

This study examined predictors of creative self-efficacy (CSE) within a large sample (N=1,878) of Polish school students. Results indicate that creative self-efficacy is significantly predicted by creative abilities (measured by Test of Creative Thinking-Drawing Production) as well as self-reported originality, with 12% of the creative self-efficacy variance predicted by these criteria. Analysis of the potential antecedents of creative self-efficacy showed that it is connected with gender, socioeconomic status, and locality size. Socioeconomic status (SES) was a positive predictor of CSE. Male students were characterized by higher self-efficacy than female students and they also tended to overestimate their creative self-efficacy as predicted by abilities. In turn, females underestimated their creative self-efficacy. Socioeconomic status moderated the relations between creative abilities and creative self-efficacy, with stronger associations between abilities and efficacy in high SES groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Applying social cognitive theory to interest in research among counseling psychology doctoral students: A path analysis.

In this study, the R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, and G. Hackett (see record 1994-47157-001) social cognitive model of interest development was applied to the prediction of interest in research. Participants included 184 counseling psychology doctoral students. Results of a path analysis indicated that 5 variables were significant predictors of interest in research: research outcome expectations, research self-efficacy beliefs, investigative interests, artistic interests, and age. In addition, several factors indirectly affected interest in research through effects on research self-efficacy—the research training environment, Holland Investigative interests, and year in program. Research training environment, Holland Investigative interests, and research self-efficacy beliefs also had an impact on interest in research indirectly through their effects on research outcome expectations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of interests and self-efficiency expectations: An expanded examination of the spherical model of interests.

A questionnaire packet assessing occupational preferences, activity preferences, and career self-efficacy expectations was administered to 2 samples of college students. The structural invariance of each data set (activity, self-efficacy, and occupation items) was examined for the 1st sample via principal-components analysis and they correlated. The structure was found to be highly similar across data types. The items were then aggregated into 18 scales representing the spherical model of interests proposed by T. J. G. Tracey and J. Rounds (1996b). The 18 scales were found to fit the spherical model for both the original and validation samples. No gender differences in the structure of the scales were found, but there were gender mean differences found in the scale scores similar to results of past research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ego development, authoritarianism, and social status: An investigation of the incremental validity of Loevinger's Sentence Completion Test (Short Form).

This study presents two sets of analyses designed to evaluate the relation between a 12-item form of the Washington University Sentence Completion Test of ego development (Short Form; SCT-S) and socioeconomic status (SES). The subjects were a large national random sample of adolescent and young adult men and women who were stratified into three artificial age cohorts. The first set of hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that SES accounted for 8 to 13% of the variance in SCT-S scores. Incremental validity of the SCT-S in predicting social attitudes, beyond that predicted by SES, was generally supported for authoritarian aggression and partially supported in predicting masculine sex role expectations. Findings suggest that research on ego development with subjects over age 18 might use level of education as a rough index of SES. For younger subjects, parental factors and education are both important. This study also provides revised age-specific national norms for the SCT-S. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting the scholarly activity of counseling psychology students: A refinement and extension.

J. H. Kahn and N. A. Scott's (1997) model of scholarly activity was refined by integrating the mentoring relationship as an element of the research training environment and research outcome expectations as an additional mediator, as guided by social-cognitive career theory (SCCT). A national survey of 149 counseling psychology students was used to test the refined model. Results supported an indirect effect of the research training environment on scholarly activity through research interest and research self-efficacy; the student's relationship with his or her mentor did not predict these outcomes. In accord with SCCT, research self-efficacy and research outcome expectations mediated the relationships between students' investigative interests and perceptions of the research training environment (predictors) on research interest and scholarly activity (criteria). This model extends Kahn and Scott's work and suggests the value of integrating SCCT into models of student scholarly activity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting career indecision: A self-determination theory perspective.

The purpose of this study was to propose and test a model of career indecision based on self-determination theory (E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 1985). This model posits that peer and parental styles predicted career indecision through perceived self-efficacy and autonomy. Participants were 834 college students (236 men, 581 women, 17 without gender identification). Results from structural equation modeling provided support for the proposed model and showed that the model was invariant across gender. Discussion centers on the theoretical and practical implications of the results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-efficacy in the prediction of academic performance and perceived career options.

Explored the relation of self-efficacy beliefs to educational–vocational choice and performance by assessing the extent to which efficacy beliefs, in concert with other relevant variables, predicted academic grades, persistence, and perceived career options in 105 undergraduates considering science and engineering fields. Ss participated in a career planning course on science and engineering fields. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that self-efficacy contributed significant unique variance to the prediction of grades, persistence, and range of perceived career options in technical/scientific fields. The 2 self-efficacy scales used were moderately intercorrelated but differentially related to previous academic performance; neither scale was significantly related to general self-esteem or career indecision. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of ethnic identity and gender role attitudes to the development of career choice goals among black and Latina girls.

This study is a preliminary exploration of how individual differences in gender role attitudes and ethnic identity might be related to career decision self-efficacy and the gender traditionality of career choice goals in a sample of 102 9th-grade Black and Latina girls. Extending social-cognitive career theory, the authors examined 2 path models in which career decision self-efficacy mediated the effects of gender role attitudes and ethnic identity on the traditionality of the participants' career choice goals. Models depicting full and partial mediation were considered. The results of the path analyses provided confirmation for an extension of the social- cognitive career theory model, indicating that for this sample, career decision self-efficacy fully mediated the influence of egalitarian gender role attitudes and ethnic identity on gender traditionality in career choice goals. These findings offer support for consideration of the role of gender role attitudes and ethnic identity in career self-exploration and vocational guidance with Black and Latina girls. Limitations, implications for counseling, and suggestions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of verbal and mathematics task performance on task and career self-efficacy and interest.

To test a hypothesis from self-efficacy theory, we randomly assigned 149 subjects to verbal or mathematics and success or failure conditions in which they attempted to solve easy or difficult anagram or number series tasks. Changes in task self-efficacy and task interest as a result of task success or failure were in accordance with predictions from self-efficacy theory. We also examined the generalizability of the effects of task performance. The results indicated that task performance effects generalized to self-efficacy and interest ratings on an irrelevant task and to global ratings of math and verbal ability. Task performance effects did not generalize to career self-efficacy and career interest measures but consistent gender differences in self-efficacy emerged as a result of both math and verbal task performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)